GameCity, Europe’s biggest videogame culture festival
powered by Nottingham Trent University, today – Thursday 4
October – announces the shortlist for the second GameCity
Prize, an award that aims to celebrate videogames as a cultural
artform.

From journeys of self-discovery through ancient landscapes to
the fun-filled adventures of Super Mario; the pleasures and horrors
of love to a digitally-enabled playground game set to the music of
Johann Sebastian Bach, this year’s shortlist covers a diverse
array of work. The seven strong list has been selected by an
anonymous academy of industry experts from a longlist of 18 titles
released in the past year.

After being asked to shortlist games that are “brilliant,
interesting and meaningful” as part of an award that aims to
develop cultural confidence and promote dialogue outside of
traditional channels, the Academy, with a weighted voting system
and subjective discussion, delivered the finalists:

• Catherine - Atlus Persona Games

• Fez - Polytron

• Johann Sebastian Joust - Die Gute Fabrik

• Journey - thatgamecompany

• Mass Effect 3 - Bioware

• Proteus - Ed Key and David Kanaga

• Super Mario 3D Land - Nintendo EAD

The winning game will be selected by an esteemed panel of
judges, all leading figures in their own creative fields including
art, broadcasting, comedy, design, fashion, film, literature and
music. Chaired by the film maker Lord Puttnam, they are: Lucy
Kellaway, columnist with the Financial Times; comic artist and
writer, David Gibbons; UK designer Wayne Hemingway; award winning
journalist and BBC broadcaster Samira Ahmed; writer and broadcaster
Ekow Eshun; the actress Louise Brealey; actor, writer, singer,
comedian and novelist, Charlie Higson and BBC Radio DJ and
television presenter, Jo Whiley.

Lord Puttnam, Chair of Judges, comments: “The videogame
industry is one of the most creative industries in the world and
yet still struggles to participate in mainstream culture in a
non-trivial way. The Man Booker, the Mercury Prize, the Palm d'Or -
serious cultural forms need barometers to record and celebrate
excellence. The GameCity festival and its accompanying Prize fill
that gap in the cultural calendar and provide a much needed call
for videogames to both be taken and to take themselves more
seriously."

GameCity Director and creator Iain Simons said, “The
GameCity Prize isn’t really about which is the best
videogame, it’s about how we talk about videogames and live
with them in mainstream culture and modern life. Many of the jurors
this year are playing games with their families too, and the
perspective that they bring to thinking about the titles selected
is going to be really interesting. I think we’ve got an
amazing shortlist this year which really reflects the diversity of
what videogames can be.”

The GameCity Prize was created and launched as part of GameCity6
in October 2011. Minecraft, the open world building
title and phenomenal success from Mojang founder Markus
‘Notch’ Persson, was the inaugural winner.

The winner of the 2012 GameCity Prize will be announced on
Wednesday 24 October.

Game City 2012 Shortlist synopses

Catherine

Explore the pleasures and horrors of love and the choices we
make for it in this action-adventure/puzzle game unlike any other.
As Vincent, you have a hard choice to make: marry your longtime
girlfriend Katherine or move on to the incredible blonde you just
woke up next to--named Catherine. But beware! Make the wrong
choice, and you could end up dead!

Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the
existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez
is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time
and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4
distinct classic 2D perspectives. Explore a serene and beautiful
open-ended world full of secrets, puzzles and hidden treasures.
Unearth the mysteries of the past and discover the truth about
reality and perception. Change your perspective and look at the
world in a different way.

Johann Sebastian Joust is a no-graphics, digitally-enabled
playground game for 2 to 7 players, designed for motion controllers
such as the PlayStation Move. The goal is to be the last player
remaining. When the music — selections from J.S. Bach's
Brandenburg Concertos — plays in slow-motion, the controllers
are extremely sensitive to movement. When the music speeds up, this
threshold becomes less strict, giving the players a small window to
dash at their opponents. If your controller is ever moved beyond
the allowable threshold, you're out! Try to jostle your opponents'
controllers while protecting your own.

Journey is an interactive parable, an anonymous online adventure
to experience a person’s life passage and their intersections
with others. You wake alone and surrounded by miles of burning,
sprawling desert, and soon discover the looming mountaintop which
is your goal. Faced with rolling sand dunes, age-old ruins, caves
and howling winds, your passage will not be an easy one. The goal
is to get to the mountaintop, but the experience is discovering who
you are, what this place is, and what your purpose is. Travel and
explore this ancient, mysterious world alone, or with a stranger
you meet along the way. Soar above ruins and glide across sands as
you discover the secrets of a forgotten civilization. Featuring
stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay,
Journey delivers an experience like no other.

In Mass Effect 3, an ancient alien race known only as
“Reapers”, has launched an all-out invasion of the
galaxy, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction in their wake.
Earth has been taken, the galaxy is on the verge of total
annihilation, and you are the only one who can stop them. The price
of failure is extinction. You, as Commander Shepard, must lead the
counter assault to take it back. Only you can determine how events
will play out, which planets you will save from annihilation and
which alliances you will form or abandon as you rally the forces of
the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all.

A game of audio-visual exploration and discovery by Ed Key and
David Kanaga, Proteus is “an experience not unlike that bit
in a movie where a child wanders into some weird wonderland and
ends up gazing about in slack-jawed delight.” (Rock Paper
Shotgun)

Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom friends return in this latest
installment of the popular adventure series. Super Mario 3D Land
promises to deliver a fun-filled adventure that all ages can enjoy.
Expect all the fun you've come to love from Mario in this brand new
addition to the franchise. Perfect to enjoy for a few minutes or a
few hours, get ready to escape from everyday hectic life and fill
in your "me" time with Mario!

Super Mario 3D Land is a new adventure for Nintendo 3DS, the
latest Nintendo handheld system. You can use the 3D slider on the
side of your Nintendo 3DS console to adjust the 3D to a level
that's comfortable for your eyes - or turn it off completely. The
console includes an array of parental controls for your complete
peace of mind in case you want to share the fun with a child.

· Images of the
shortlisted games are available through Four Colman Getty.

· GameCity is
an innovative arts and culture project powered by Nottingham Trent
University. It delivers major research and inclusion projects such
as the GameCity videogame culture festival, GameCityNights, the
Interactive Technology and Games (ITAG) conference and the National
Videogame Archive, a unique collaboration with the National Media
Museum.

·
GameCity’s aim is to bring together developers and the public
to explore and celebrate videogames and videogames culture, with a
particular focus on students. We attract the best speakers in the
world, offer up-and-coming artists and developers a platform for
their games and create totally unique events.

· Going way
beyond just playing games, GameCity offers other new ways for
people to interact with videogame culture. Art exhibitions,
director commentaries, playground building, live recreations of
videogames, gigs, gong-shows, three World Records, arcade trails,
club nights – nothing is off limits for this most radical of
videogame festivals.

·
GameCityNights is a series of after-dark monthly events that brings
together developers, students and players in an exploration of
videogame culture. Every month a series of brilliant headline
speakers share their insights, passions and experiences in games as
they offer a unique look into their work.

Games Press is the leading online resource for games journalists. Used daily by magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, online media and retailers worldwide, it offers a vast, constantly updated archive of press releases and assets, and is the simplest and most cost-effective way for PR professionals to reach the widest possible audience. Registration for the site and the Games Press email digest is available, to the trade only, at www.gamespress.com.

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Sign up to receive MCV's email news updates and access to other online products and services.

MCV is the leading trade news and community site for all professionals working within the UK and international video games market. It reaches everyone from store manager to CEO, covering the entire industry. MCV is published by NewBay Media, which specialises in entertainment, leisure and technology markets.